A Song on a Wing and a Prayer

Steve Taylor says rock and roll is both a sound and a state
of mind,"you know it when you see it," he said. (Norvin
Coblentz - used with permission)

Easter is often a time of travel and celebration in
Australia. For international musicians attending one of many music
festivals staged this time of year, the travel time is amplified, and so
are the celebrations.

Music fans in Australia are spoiled at Easter with a wide variety of to
attend on the long weekend, as well as eating chocolate eggs.

There's the Folk Festival in Canberra, Bluesfest in Byron Bay, and
southern Queensland's largest annual music event, Easterfest in
Toowoomba.

For Nashville-based Steve Taylor, it has been more than 20 years since
he played in Australia. It took him more than 20 hours to arrive in the
garden city, and he spends a mere one hour on stage.

"It's terrifying," the frontman of Steve Taylor and the Perfect Foil
laughed.

"We've got 60 minutes. So I guess we better be good.

"We have actually spent a lot of time talking about song selection.

"You have to throw in enough of the 'catalogue songs' to keep people
interested, and yet the new album is what is most exciting to all of
us.

"I'm fortunate to have a drummer that is an expert in Australian
audiences [band member Peter Furler grew up on the Sunshine Coast]. So
pretty much anything that he says about which songs we should play takes
the vote."

In the world of faith-fuelled music, Steve was a household name in the
1980s. His music straddled post-punk and pop and his lyrics tackled many
issues of social justice.

He took a break from music to direct a number of feature films, but was
lured back into music because of its immediacy.

"Honestly, it was sheer boredom," he said.

"Music was like fantastic therapy. The process of making a movie is
really excruciating. The last one I made took seven years. The ability to
go to a friend's home and press record and make something instantly was
like instant gratification. Very enjoyable," he said of making music.

His friends, and current bandmates, read like a 'who's who' for fans of
gospel music.

Drummer Peter Furler plays drums and had sold millions of albums in his
former band Newsboys. Bass player John Mark Painter has played on many
albums as a session musician and song arranger, and guitarist Jimmy Abegg
was part of the Ragamuffin group led by the legendary Rich Mullins.

They have just released Steve's first music in two decades.

"It's a musical collaboration from all four of us," he said.

"That certainly makes for a different sounding album. As far as lyrics
go I wasn't interested in making songs that were easily identifiable as a
polemic about something specific. I wanted to take more time crafting the
lyrics and if someone could figure the lyric out on the first listen I
probably wasn't doing my job."

At festivals Steve shares the stage with bands half his age, and admits
rock and roll is sometimes seen as a 'young man's game'.

"But we are going to give them a run for their money," he laughed.

"I think it was Randy Newman who said the goal as a recording artist is
not to get better, it is just not to get way worse.

"That tends to be the case with most of my favourite artists. And in my
band we're all really happy with the music we are making right now."

He also says it is interesting to notice a change in the audience
make-up as the years have gone by.

"It is odd to be introduced to kids who grew up on your music, and I
still don't have my head wrapped around it, especially because I took such
a long break between the last album and this one," he said.

But he has a plan to win over a crowd of people who may not be familiar
with his work.

"Our plan is to fan out into the audience before we play and pass out
candy, or maybe Easter eggs," he laughed.

Steve adds Easter is a meaningful season for him personally.

"We are finishing up the season of Lent," he said.

"And my band plays Easterfest the night before Easter Sunday.

"Easter really is one of my favourite days to celebrate. We adopted our
daughter and brought her home on Easter Sunday 10 years ago this year, so
I have a lot to celebrate."